Michigan

Even with her training as a nurse, family caregiver Joanne Davis says she doesn’t feel equipped to handle certain tasks as she cares for her husband. “I think of people who are in a situation who don’t have that sort of experience and I don’t know how they manage,” she says. And yet, nearly half of the 42 million family caregivers in America perform medical and nursing tasks to care for their loved ones. This can be managing medications, cleaning …

Cyndie’s dad suffered a stroke seven years ago. She moved him from Pennsylvania to her home in Wisconsin so she could take care of him. It isn’t always an easy road, but Cyndie is thankful for the precious time she gets to spend with her father. Francesca and her family moved to Florida to care for her aging mother, leaving their home of 27 years in Connecticut. Her role as caregiver grows each month. Althea’s sister Joyce is a partial quadriplegic and …

Meet Lynn Achter, a Wyoming resident, who was granted guardianship of her brother in Oregon after he suffered a brain injury in a motorcycle accident. From a thousand miles away, she managed his money, made medical decisions, and coordinated the resources and services he needed. The distance made Lynn’s caregiving responsibilities even more difficult, and she decided to move her brother to Wyoming. That’s when Lynn discovered that Wyoming did not have a uniform guardianship law, and she would have …

Meet Lorna, a 59-year-old who has been unemployed for a year and, as a result, doesn’t have health insurance. She has Type-2 Diabetes. Recently she had to have some blood tests done, costing $600 that she can’t afford. She has a broken tooth that she’s not able to get fixed. She wants to work, but can’t find a job in the area. Meet a 60-year-old woman whose husband retired in 2010 and, as a result, she lost her health insurance coverage. The …

During World War II, Rosie the Riveter, her bicep flexed, peered out from a poster and reminded American women filling factory jobs that “We Can Do It!” There was also a real Rosie – Rose Will Monroe, a riveter at a Ford auto factory retooled to build bombers in Ypsilanti, Mich., and the star of a film promoting war bonds. A small Michigan museum is trying to save a corner of Rosie’s factory – the Willow Run Bomber Plant – …

In the mad rush to pass budgets for the fiscal year beginning July 1, the health care of hundreds of thousands of hard-working Americans is at stake – and time is running out. As I write, only about half of the states have agreed to expand Medicaid, which will extend health coverage to residents who earn about $15,000 a year or less. The closer we come to July 1, the greater the wins and harder the losses: Key Winners: 300,000 …